What is HTML5?

An up and coming specification for HTML is HTML5, the W3C has not quite finalised the specification for HTML 5, however they have drafts with the W3C aiming for a late 2014 release for the HTML 5 specification. This, however, has not stopped many of the latest browsers from releasing support for many of the different features to be used in HTML 5. There is a wikipedia article discussing the support each layout engine has for HTML 5 as of now, the different layout engines correspond to the major browsers, i.e. Trident is used by Internet Explorer and Gecko is used by Mozilla Firefox and so on.

Since the W3C hasn't updated HTML 4.01 since 2000, one might think that perhaps HTML 5 is an unnecessary update, however, the landscape of the web has majorly changed since the year 2000. With the rise of social media, YouTube (and other video sharing sites) and so on, it seems this would be an excellent time to introduce new technologies. One of the most important aspects of HTML 5 is that it is an open format meaning that anyone can use it free of charge and allows playing of videos and other such activities without the use of third-party technologies. YouTube has enabled support for HTML 5 video with an optional opt-in service if your browser supports HTML 5 video, having such a major website join in helps make the push for HTML 5 for when its specification is fully released. This will become yet another tool for web developers and consultants to use in web design and web development offering them more choice and flexibility which is never a bad thing.